Digital Marketing Assignment

Course Code Course Name Instructor School Location Date   Digital Marketing Audit 1. Company Background Northern Monk is a craft brewery that operates in Leeds, UK and applies traditional and modern approa ...

Course Code Course Name Instructor School Location Date   Digital Marketing Audit 1. Company Background Northern Monk is a craft brewery that operates in Leeds, UK and applies traditional and modern approaches in developing their beers. Its quality beers include specialty items such as flavored beers, gluten free and low alcohol offerings. The company was founded in 2013 by Russell Bisset with only £5000 (Brand United, 2019). The company is known for its revolutionary branding in its products and exports is products globally. Northern Monk is an upscale brand that sells its products between the ranges of £10 and £11 per beer can for some of the products with the goal being to attract a niche consumer (Brand United, 2019). The craft beer industry is currently valued at £1 billion as of 2019 (IBISWorld, 2019). 2. SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Reach • The company has an official website and social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram which they use to interact with their customers. The CMO council reports that 71% of internet users are more likely to purchase from a brand that has social media platforms (Schwarzl and Grabowski, 2015) • All the social media accounts links are included on the website. • Social media marketing is an integral part of the crafts beer industry in the United Kingdom (Foster et al., 2017). The company has a large following on social media including 61k followers on Instagram and 8.6k followers on Facebook. This indicates a high brand awareness through the enhancement of online visibility (Chaffey and Hanlon, 2010). • The website and social media platform have a high aesthetic appeal with sleek designs and imagery used consistently across the platforms. Its branding company CS Labels, notes that the Northern Monk labels and aesthetic have been responsible for 45% of the awards they have received (Brand United, 2019). • There is consistency in terms of the content on social media specifically that on Facebook and Instagram where images form the majority of the content. • Brewery is highly regarded in crafts beer industry with 493,146 ratings on Untapped (The Drinks Business, 2019). • The company’s subscription on YouTube is much lower in comparison to the other platforms with only 343 followers. • The content on the social media is not substantial. On Instagram there are rarely any accompanying comments on the images posted. • The content does not vary in terms of the application of videos, text, images, or other content and is largely limited to images only. • Potential for further reach by including other types of content on their online platforms. For example, on their YouTube channel by creating more videos. This could be achieved by the inclusion of more videos on the platform. • Utilization of new social media platforms such as Tik Tok to promote the brand. According to the InfluencerMarketingHub, Tik Tok has 500 million users worldwide and is primarily used by the Generation Z and Millennial customer groups (Bakhli, 2019). • High number of similar companies within the craft industry and with similar online profiles. SIBA reports that in 2019, there was drop of 0.9% in the British crafts beer industry due to the highly inflated market. According to KPMG, Britain has the highest number of craft brews per capita (2020). Act • Numerous links on the website that describe the company, its mission, vision and projects. • A “Meet the Monks” page on the website that allows customers to view the information on the top leadership of the organization. • Domain Authority of 47 and a page authority of 36 (MOZ, 2019). • The website is not mentioned in the Instagram page which comprises of the largest online audience for Northern Monk. • Minimal personal stories or testimonials in the social media platforms. This could impact the consumers’ ability to develop brand loyalty (Chaney and Hanlon, 2010). • Placing of the website links on the social media platforms could drive online traffic to the shopping stage of the customer journey. For example, if there is a direct link from Instagram, a user can further explore the different options in the online shop. Convert • On the official website, there is a shopping tab that allows customers to immediately order their products online. • No call to action on the other social media platform including a lack of links to the website or a shopping tab as provided by platforms such as Facebook and Instagram for businesses. • Providing the option of direct purchase or ordering on Facebook and Instagram through the applications designed specifically for businesses. •   References Foster, D, Kirman, B., and Linehan, C. et al. (2017) The Role of Social Media in Artisanal Production: A Case of Craft Beer. In: Proceedings of the 21st International Academic Mindtrek Conference. ACM , pp. 184-193. IBISWorld. (2019). Craft Beer Production in the UK - Market Research Report. The Drinks Business. (2020). Northern Monk Completes Rebrand After £1.5m Crowdfunding Campaign. https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2019/01/northern-monk-completes-rebrand-after-1-5m-crowdfunding-campaign/ Brand United. (2019). How a Brand Experience Unfolds for Northern Monk Brewery’s Audience.